They hopped off Atomos and found themselves in an even cooler cavern filled with hues of shimmering green and blues.
"There's water nearby," Vanille said.
"Yeah, it feels like there's water nearby," Lightning replied. They entered the winding tunnel ahead of them and came out into a much wider cavern with a pool of water. The path cut straight across some rocks with other rock platforms raised along the way.
"What's this place?" Snow asked Fang.
"It's Salyya Springs," she answered.
"It feels kinda good in here after being in the sun on the Steppe and in a dry dirt tunnel in the Mah'habara," he said. Everyone enjoyed the calm surrounding except Lightning who stood as still as a statue.
"Hey, what's the matter?" Hope asked cautiously.
"Something doesn't feel right," she answered. She caught everyone's attention this time, seeing as her senses didn't fail minutes before with the Juggernaut. A shiver passed through them as the temperature dropped. They unconsciously joined together in a circle, back to back. A shadow rippled through the air and then solidified in front of them. Its eyes opened to reveal red irises with slit pupils. Horns adorned its head and huge claws shaped its hands. The feet supported the body in the same manner as a Behemoth when it changes position to a two-legged stance during battle.
A long whip like tail with a wicked long barb at the end swung lazily back and forth. The body structure of the creature hinted at power. Its image flickered with black fire which surrounded its body. It was then that Lightning realized this feeling of familiarity. It was the unknown creature that had made her what she was. At that moment, it smiled maliciously, showing off very sharp teeth complete with elongated fangs where the canines were located. Fang and Vanille were dumbstruck; they looked like they were seeing a ghost. In some ways it was true.
"You," Lightning snarled as she stalked forward. The Death Wraith didn't move a muscle. She suddenly darted forward, gunblade in position. With a flick of its wrist, the gunblade was deflected. Lightning held on and swiped at it again. This time, it let the weapon pass through it with no harm.
"Of course, it has no body," Vanille said. At that moment, the air around the others shimmered. Hope reached out and his hands met a hard invisible surface. He pounded on the barrier but it didn't budge. They were trapped. The Wraith snagged Lightning's weapon with light speed and threw it. Lightning wasted no time switching to her hands. She launched at the Wraith but it disappeared. She looked around on high alert and spotted it behind her. She jumped forward, and so did the Wraith. They collided, surprisingly, and tumbled to the floor. The Wraith delivered the first blow. Its claw ripped across Lightning's stomach. She clenched her teeth and rolled them over. She grabbed the Wraith's neck in a choke hold and raised her hand. Shadows similar to the Wraith slithered down her arm and turned her hand into a duplicate but more slender claw than the Wraith's.
She struck at its face with a mighty swipe. It moved out of the way and Lightning's attack continued into the rock which shattered at the impact. It lashed out at Lightning who jumped away to avoid it. It followed her retreat and tackled her to the ground. It bared its teeth at her and she growled back at it. A subzero hiss spilled from its mouth like nitrogen and the others covered their ears as they stumbled to the ground. The sound only served to piss Lightning off. She grabbed it by the horn and yanked. With a sharp crack, she tore the horn off and impaled the creature with it. It screeched in pain and bit into her shoulder fiercely. Ice numbed her veins at the same time that fire flared in them. The familiarity of the bite propelled her anger. She grabbed its jaw and wrenched it open. Then she held its throat in a vice grip and slammed it into the ground. When it didn't move, she inspected the bite.
It bit the same place as before. It was already healing but the feeling it left didn't go away. Her vision blurred and her breathing picked up. She felt the change before she had any time to stop it. Her vision suddenly cleared beyond human capacity and she was sure they had changed to yellow. Her hearing enhanced, her teeth sharpened, and that fearful hunger returned. An angry snarl ripped from her throat and she faced the Wraith. More shadows flowed down her arm, making another claw out of her other hand. The Wraith stood and smirked at her challengingly. She darted forward swiftly and it met her halfway.
They attacked each other in a flurry of claws and teeth; tearing at each other wherever they could make contact. When Lightning attacked, the Wraith spilled no blood but its body became dim and less sharp. When the Wraith attacked, it spilled Lightning's blood, making it harder and harder to fight back. Her cape became a tattered mess, scattered around the ground. Healing soon became difficult. She panted slightly and backed away after a particularly gruesome slash to her side. She stumbled, before she fell to her knees. The Wraith drifted forward on wings that sprouted from its back. A claw dug into Lightning's shoulder as it pulled her closer.
"You are weak young one. You can't hope to overcome me with no blood in your system. Give up your soul as it is mine to take now," it hissed with a voice that paralyzed the body. Lightning looked directly in its eyes for the first time. What she saw was a shock. Staring back at her was herself. A reflection in its eye of what she looked like. Dark shadows under her yellow eyes, deadly sharp teeth, and tendrils of shadows slowly taking over her body. The shadows had started to climb up her neck and end as a point on her cheek. The eyes shifted to yellow just like hers and it laughed mockingly in a way that made her heart shudder.
"This is what you will become my servant. There is no turning back on what you are," it taunted. Lightning growled and turned away.
"No, I won't become one of you. I won't kill. I won't slaughter. You can never have my soul!" she snarled as she pushed forward with her teeth bared. She ripped into its shadow flesh while the force of her shove carried them over the edge and into the water. The taste of the Wraith was bitter and full of suffering. A million souls who have suffered in pain and agony were released on her. Her body seized up from the direct attack on her own soul and the Wraith broke down to nothing and disappeared. When the assault was finally over, Lightning went limp and gave up to the blood red water surrounding her. A splash upset the settling red and a strong arm wrapped around her waist. She was hauled out of the water, handled by many hands, and then laid down on solid ground. Snow pulled himself out of the water and sloshed over to the others who were huddled around Lightning.
"Did she just kill a Wraith? That's supposed to be impossible!" Fang exclaimed. Vanille sat quietly with her hands in her signature prayer position. Sazh watched nervously while Hope looked like he would burst into tears. Snow pushed through the others and kneeled next to her. His face was full of sorrow, pain, and worry. Seeing her in such a critical and innocent state hurt him too much. Despite all the fights he went through with her, he cared deeply for her and meant it when he called her his sister. He admired her and saw a stronger version of Serah in the way she acted. The others gave him room as he pulled her off the floor and held her with one arm. He pulled off the glove of his other hand with his teeth and spat it out over his shoulder. He held out his wrist and looked directly at Hope with a determined expression.
Hope nodded and lifted Lightning's gunblade which was lying by his side. He laid the sharp edge on Snow's arm. When the others realized what would come next, they scattered. Mostly because Lightning could come back swinging rather than the fact that they didn't want to see Snow spill his own blood to revive her which disgusted them too. Hope took a breath before he pulled swiftly and a gash opened up on Snow's arm. It gushed freely and the sight of so much made Snow queasy but he continued. He let his blood drop into Lightning's mouth and before long, her shallow breaths became stronger. Her eyes shot open with intense hunger burning in them. She grabbed Snow's arm and bit into it. He grunted in pain but let her do it. When several seconds passed, he began to get dizzy.
"Lightning, that's enough. You're going to kill him," Hope warned as he placed a hand on her cheek. Just the smell of his skin caught her attention. She released Snow from her death grip and he slumped over; barely catching himself. She pushed off Snow and followed Hope who slowly lured her away from him. Hope looked around for the others but they were nowhere in sight. He finally stopped and allowed her to catch up. She went straight for his shoulder just like before and sunk her teeth in. His body didn't react as bad as the other time but he was still having problems standing up. Her hand snaked around his waist to keep him standing. When he started to feel dizzy, she let go. He went limp and she guided him to the floor. She was breathing hard and then growled threateningly. Sazh had come a little too close and her territorial instincts kicked in. She glared daggers at him and he backed away. Fang and Vanille came running and Vanille stopped sooner than Fang who dared to get closer. She leveled her spear at Lightning.
"Light, please don't hurt them. You can control it," Snow forced out through labored breaths. Lightning looked at him and then back to the others. She rose to her feet and then swayed off balance. She held her head in her hands for a moment before letting them drop. Shadows still hung under her eyes but her sharp teeth were gone and so were the yellow eyes. She fell to her hands and knees and took deep breaths. Fang advanced cautiously until she reached Snow and Hope. She checked them for a pulse and made sure the injuries were healed.
"These are two of the stupidest guys I've ever met, but at least they're stupidity accounts for something since they are doing it for the person they care about," she reasoned. Lightning pushed herself to her feet and made her way to a rock structure up high and away from the others. She sat up there, keeping watch over them to give her something to do besides brood over what happened. It felt so wrong doing this to the people she cared about but it seemed like her other half could care less. Mostly towards Snow but something about Hope still interested the demon half and that was something she had to find out. For now, she would keep her distance until she was needed. It turned out she was needed much sooner than expected from someone even more unexpected.
